


Pernoctation

by MaskyIsNotAProxy



Series: Dubiously Canon BLHH Ficlets [1]
Category: Marble Hornets
Genre: But it would be nice if you did, Cuddling, Fluff, M/M, Masky has a name, You don't have to read the parent fic to understand this one
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-17
Updated: 2017-05-17
Packaged: 2018-11-01 21:43:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,214
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10930620
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MaskyIsNotAProxy/pseuds/MaskyIsNotAProxy
Summary: Pernoctation:[noun]The act or state of passing the whole night; a remaining all night.Jay can't sleep.The first of a potential series of ficlets of dubious canon set in the universe of the fic "Broken Leg Healing Hearts"





	Pernoctation

     Nighttime. The hotel room was dark and relatively silent. The only light in the room came from the blinking red led on a camera mounted atop a tripod between the two beds and the equally red numbers on the clock on the nightstand. The occupant of one of the beds, Jay, pulled the covers tighter around himself as he lay in his bed, unable to sleep. He was exhausted, and the bags under his eyes weren't doing him any favors, yet he remained awake. The events of the day were still reeling in his mind.

 

* * *

     He and Tim had gone to Rosswood Park to do some looking around, 'investigating,' Jay had termed it. The park was where Jay had last seen Alex, and, despite the known dangers—and Tim's _multiple warnings_ —Jay felt there was still something to be found there. Several hours of wandering around aimlessly among trails and trees had brought up nothing until Jay caught sight of Totheark, the masked man in the tan hoodie, lurking nearby. A chase ensued— _again_ against Tim's _multiple_ protests—landing the both of them out of breath and having lost the hooded man by the now infamous tunnel. Tim had insisted on going back, and Jay was about to agree, until the air grew thick and their heads felt heavy. Tim was brought to his knees by a fit of intense coughing and Jay struggled to get him back to his feet before a now all-too-familiar figure appeared and sent him back to the ground.  


     After that, Jay's head, and memory, was fuzzy, but one thing was clear: Tim was unresponsive in the drive back to the hotel. By the time Jay had unlocked the room he knew what he was dealing with. _Tim was no longer Tim._ His other personality had taken over, the one Jay had taken to calling 'Ammon.' Both men entered the room, but took separate paths. Jay headed for the desk where his laptop sat to upload the day's footage from his camera, while Ammon went right for where his mask was kept on the nightstand, putting it on immediately. Ammon sat on the bed that was formerly Tim's, watching Jay. Once the footage was uploaded, Jay crossed the room, set up his camera on the tripod to record room security, kicked off his shoes, and climbed into bed, turning off the light. Not a word was spoken between the two of them. Ammon remained watching over him in the fading evening light filtering through the sheer curtain.

 

* * *

     Jay had gone over what had happened so many times he'd lost count, _so why couldn't he sleep?_ His weariness from...all of this, to be quite honest, wore so heavily on him, but sleep was becoming harder and harder to attain. By now Jay's head was beginning to hurt from the strain of trying to will himself to sleep. He closed his eyes anyway, giving them some semblance of a rest. He huffed out a deep sigh, burrowing deeper into his cocoon of cheap hotel sheets, blankets, and pillows. To add to it all, there was now the distinct feeling of a presence behind him, beside his bed. He was about to roll over when he felt a hand on his shoulder, it startled him at first, releasing a jolt of movement from his tense muscles. Before long the hand moved away and the presence behind Jay came ever closer.  


     The bed creaked with the weight of an additional person getting in it. Jay rolled over fully and moved over to make room, coming out of his blanket cocoon and sitting upright as he did so. It only took a moment for Jay's eyes to adjust to the darkness to make out the pale mask and a few more to see the rest of Ammon's form sitting in a recline beside him. He breathed a small sigh of relief, relaxing more of his pent-up tension. The masked man's head was tilted to one side inquisitively, which Jay mirrored with a small smile.  


     Apparently this was the correct action, because Ammon then inched closer to Jay and rested his head on Jay's shoulder, nuzzling against him. Jay looked down at him “Checking on me?” he asked in a low voice, it was nighttime after all. To this Ammon raised his head and nodded. “I'm...alright,” Jay replied, unable to hide the sigh that followed. The masked man pulled back a bit. Despite the dark, Jay _knew_ he was getting a stare directly in the eyes, and were this _Tim_ he was dealing with, a raised eyebrow, too. Did _Ammon_ raise his eyebrows? Jay couldn't remember. “Really, I-I just can't sleep is all.” Jay's eyes darted away, “Thank you, though.” He was sure he heard the puffing noise of a sharp sigh come from under the mask, one of the few noises Ammon did make.  


     Jay could count on one hand the words Ammon actually spoke aloud, and added another for words he'd written when his usual methods failed. But the man normally didn't need words and rarely used sound. He had his own non-verbal way of communicating, and Jay had grown accustomed to it. In fact, he was beginning to pick it up like a language all its own. It was crude and sometimes animalistic, but it worked, and, Jay had to admit, it was rather endearing.  


     Ammon was now pawing at Jay's arm, his masked face closer and tilted further. Jay rolled his eyes, _of course_ Ammon was going to press him like this, he _wasn't_ being very convincing. “Ok. You win.” He shifted to turn more toward Ammon. “I can't sleep because I keep thinking about what happened today.” Ammon lowered his head. “Yeah,” Jay said, “I mean, we've had close calls in the past, and no doubt we'll have them again in the future, so why am I _still_ losing sleep over it?” Ammon raised his head. “I couldn't catch Totheark, _again,_ I couldn't help Tim, _again,_ I couldn't find answers, _AGAIN!”_ Jay didn't quite yell, but he raised his voice above his general low tone. Ammon shook his head gently, placing a finger against Jay's lips briefly. Jay scoffed. “Sorry, Ammon, but I'm not really in the mood to be-” He was interrupted by Ammon placing his arms around him, pulling him gently into an embrace. Jay came further out of his blanket cocoon to share covers with the other man.  


     Ammon's arms were warm and soft, exactly the kind of thing Jay needed, a warm, soft, _safe_ place to nestle into and close his eyes with hardly a protest. Of course, despite how safe and comforting Ammon's embrace was, Jay was still without sleep, and his eyes opened again, slowly, though. “Tim is okay, right?” Jay adjusted his head to look at Ammon. The man in the mask did not move. _“Right?”_ Jay's voice grew pleading. Though of course he adored Ammon, he still worried about Tim's well-being every time the silent man came to front. “Ammon, please tell me if Tim's alright,” Jay wriggled from the man's arms to reach the small light attached to the headboard meant for reading. He turned it on and angled its harsh light away to shed some light upon the room and aid in reading the gestures of his partner whose comfortable embrace he settled himself back into.  


     “Ammon?” Jay prompted. The man gave a small grunt and a nod. Jay wrapped his arms around Ammon tightly. “He's safe?” Jay asked. Ammon nodded again, bringing one hand up to tap his head with a finger. “Good.” Jay sighed with relief. Ammon again nestled his head on Jay's shoulder. Now in the dim light Jay could see Ammon's eyes behind the mask, dark and mysterious as always, looking up at him softly. “I don't know what's going to happen if I keep messing up like this,” Jay said. Ammon cocked his head upwards quizzically. “You know what I mean,” Jay said, “I lost Totheark in Rosswood, I don't know _how,_ but, I did, and I couldn't get Tim out of there before—well, you _know,_ you're _here.”_ Jay's voice developed a pathetic edge to it. Ammon's arms tightened around Jay, and a gentle rocking motion was added in. Jay closed his eyes for a moment to take it in, feeling a warmth come to his ears and face.  


     A soft humming sound emanated from under Ammon's mask in a low, familiar tune, something Jay knew he'd heard before, but, like so many other things, couldn't place. His heart and stomach fluttered, flipped, and flopped, anxiety still eating at him. “What if someone gets seriously hurt? _Or worse?”_ Ammon lifted his head and reared back a bit to look Jay right in the eyes, he kept his arms around Jay, however, but his rocking stilled, punctuating his seriousness. “I'm...I can try to be more careful, but I can't just...sit back and do _nothing_ when I see something important, _can I?”_ Ammon lowered his head, shaking it slowly. There wasn't an easy answer, nothing about the situation was easy. Jay sighed, “Thanks for trying, though,” he smiled slightly.  


     Under the covers Ammon and Jay moved closer together in a cuddle. “I-I know it's not the best situation...for Tim...but I'm glad you're here,” Jay said. Ammon sighed, muffled by his mask, he must have known it too. Being himself meant something had to have happened to Tim that he couldn't handle on his own, it was usually a bad time, but now that Jay was there and they were together...again, _no easy answers._ “I don't say it often enough, to _either of you,_ really, but...” Jay looked away for a moment, his face growing warmer and probably redder, “I...I love you.”  


     The man in the mask perked up, shifting in his place to face Jay more, freeing an arm. He brought his free hand to Jay's face, touching his cheek and cupping his chin in his palm, gently teasing at Jay's lower lip with his thumb. Jay's heart began to race, he shifted position as well. Ammon leaned in ever closer, tilting his head, pulling Jay in.  


     It was an... _odd_ sensation. Smooth plastic pushing against his lips, not cold, but not quite body temperature either. Jay let out a muffled noise, opening his eyes and pulling away momentarily. Ammon looked at him, no doubt with some confusion. Jay grinned sheepishly, “You uh...” He got a hand free to reach up to the side of Ammon's face, curling his fingers gingerly under the edge of the mask. “Let me help you.” Jay lifted the mask up and pulled it to the side, revealing the face underneath. Ammon shrunk back ever-so-slightly in the tiniest hint of a cringe upon having his mask removed, but it was quickly replaced with a smirk of satisfaction when Jay leaned back in. This time he was the one to put a hand on _Ammon's_ face and pull him in for another kiss, this time with _real_ lips.  


     They parted slowly after a short while, when Jay opened his eyes he was met with a distant, yet loving gaze from Ammon. That was the thing with the usually masked man's eyes, they always looked far-away, not preoccupied per se, just, absent? Jay couldn't quite explain it. When they first met it was hard to read any emotion there, but slowly flickers of feeling began to come through. He knew Ammon would never be 'normal,' whatever 'normal' meant in this mess they were in, but he hoped he was helping in some way.  


     “I still can't sleep,” Jay sighed, “What time is it?” Ammon was closest to the nightstand, so he broke from their tangle, turning to check, giving Jay the opportunity to adjust his own position and sit a little straighter. Ammon turned back, bringing up a hand with three raised fingers. “Three o'clock?” Jay guessed, and Ammon nodded, throwing in a shake of his hand to indicate it wasn't _exactly_ three, but close enough. Jay leaned into Ammon's chest, wrapping his arms around the man again, which was reciprocated. “Five hours until breakfast,” he sighed. Ammon patted Jay's back and kissed his forehead softly. “Will you stay up with me?” Jay asked, looking up at the unmasked man. Ammon answered him with another kiss to the lips, bringing the hand that was rested upon Jay's back up to rake through his hair. Not what Jay was expecting, but a welcome answer.  


     The duration of that five hours was spent with more cuddling, the occasional kiss here and there, and some more words from Jay and gestures and meaningful looks from Ammon in response. Despite feeling the most safe and secure he'd ever felt in years, Jay did not sleep, and neither did Ammon. Slowly the hotel room brightened as dawn approached and daylight filled the room filtered through the sheer curtains covering the window. Jay didn't want to leave the bed, but he had to go get breakfast for the both of them, as Ammon refused to leave the room without his mask. He had a long day of entry-making to ahead, though Ammon had suggested they just spend the day in bed.


End file.
